OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Jan. 21, 2012) – The Indian River State College (IRSC) team of Mike Cornell and Kyle Monti, both of Okeechobee, Fla., won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southeast Division event on Lake Okeechobee Saturday with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory earned the team $5,000. The win also helped them advance to the Southeast Division Regional Championship.

“We did a lot of running and gunning and didn’t put the flipping stick down,” said Kyle Monti, a marketing major. “It was slow and tough, we lost one 4- 4 ½-pounder, but that is to be expected. A lot of teams lost fish today, that’s just the way Okeechobee fishes. It can be really hard to land fish once they bite.

“We fished all the way from the north shore to King’s Bar, we covered a lot of water targeting pencil grass and bulrush. We were flipping jigs with Gambler baits, mostly the BB Cricket and Ugly Otter in about 2 to 4 feet of water.”

Under sunny skies with highs in the mid 70’s the team from IRSC won by nearly three pounds over their closest competitor.

“Truthfully I was a little surprised by the low weights,” Cornell went on to say. ”It got brutally cold here a couple of weeks ago but with the weather warming up I thought the bite would be better than it was. Okeechobee is a lake that Kyle and I fish every day, we are comfortable with our style and probably couldn’t do this same thing anywhere else. It can take a while to figure the lake out and I think being from here really made a difference for us today.”

College Fishing is free to enter and FLW provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.

The next National Guard FLW College Southeast Division tournament is scheduled for March 24 at Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Ga., and is hosted by Bainbridge Convention & Visitors Bureau.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S., upon the recommendation of its Bassmaster Elite Series Rules Committee, has amended its tournament rules to limit anglers competing in the Bassmaster Classic and Bassmaster Elite Series to the use of a single lure during practice and competition.

The rule change, which does not apply to Bassmaster Open, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, College B.A.S.S. and other events, clarifies the intent of long-standing rules permitting only one rod, one reel and one cast at a time. No longer permitted are double soft jerkbait rigs, drop shot rigs with jigs used as weights, double topwater setups and other multi-lure rigs, such as “umbrella rigs.”

Elite Series Rules Committee members, comprised of 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series qualifiers, seemed most concerned about new multi-lure rigs such as The Alabama Rig, which Bassmaster Elite Series pro Paul Elias used to win an event on Lake Guntersville in October. In the weeks since, tens of thousands of the multi-lure devices have been sold, and they have proved extremely effective in both recreational and competitive fishing.

Rules Committee members believe the rig eliminates some of the skill that should be required in tournament competition at the highest level. “It doesn’t matter how you work it,” said one of the anglers. “The fish can’t help themselves.”

“However, the Elite Series Rules Committee members unanimously asked to be held to a higher standard,” he added. “We have decided to honor their recommendation.”

A Rules Committee member added, “I don’t have a problem with the use of umbrella rigs or multi-lure rigs to catch bass. If you are out fun fishing, there may be nothing more fun to use. However, our events represent the highest level of professionalism in our sport and I think as participants of these events, we should be held to a higher standard, as well. I like the idea of one rod, one reel, one lure.”

Tavares, Fla. — The Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 24-26, is only about a month away, but the 2012 Bassmaster Tournament Trail actually kicks off in Jan. 19-21 with the first Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open of the year. It should be a good one, too, as anglers from as far away as Italy gather in Tavares, Fla., to cure their cabin fever at the Harris Chain of Lakes.

The Harris Chain is made up of nine lakes connected by a system of canals and covering around 80,000 surface acres. Lakes Harris, Eustis and Griffin are the largest of the waters, but anglers often find as much success in the canals as in the lakes themselves. Just ask Shaw Grigsby, who mined one particular canal to the tune of a six-figure Elite Series payday last March.

Elite Series pro Chris Lane believes that canals can be a factor in this Open, too, but doesn’t expect weights to be on par with the spawn-heavy Elite event.

“I think this thing is going to be wide open,” Lane said. “This time around it’ll be more prespawn, but there may be a few fish on beds. However, the cold weather and early (not full) moon may have them holding off. Eustis, Harris and the canals will be the big players lake-wise, I think.”

FLIPPIN, ARK. (January 11, 2012) Multi-species anglers can vary as widely as the fish they pursue, each with a different vision of what constitutes the ultimate fishing platform. For over 40 years, industry-leading boat manufacturer Ranger Boats has listened to this group of anglers and continued to develop some of the strongest multi-species designs on the water.

Recently, Ranger unveiled a completely new section of their award-winning rangerboats.com website devoted entirely to multi-species anglers. The new content allows visitors a glimpse into Ranger's heralded design and construction processes as well as a side-by-side look at several models and their multi-species applications.

Launching in advance of the highly anticipated boat-show season, Ranger's new multi-species micro site will be largely devoted to the brand's venerable Fisherman Series and Angler Series boats. Under the site's “Best Built Advantages” section, visitors will learn what sets a Ranger multi-species boat apart from other fiberglass boats and why aluminum boats can't compete with the performance, stability, fishability and resale value of the Fisherman and Angler Series.

In addition to boat specifications, the new Ranger multi-species micro site will also offer a host of videos and other original content as well as owner reviews, media reviews and a section highlighting the features and benefits of Ranger's custom built RangerTrail trailers.

To view the new Ranger Multi-Species micro site, click the banners on the RangerBoats.com home page or go directly to www.rangerboats.com/multispecies

About Ranger Boats
Ranger Boats, headquartered in Flippin, Ark., is the nation's largest manufacturer of premium fiberglass fishing boats, including a series of bass, multi-species, fish 'n play and saltwater boats. Founded in 1968 by Forrest L. Wood, Ranger Boats continues its commitment to building the highest quality, strongest performing boats on the water.

Ashmore’s new rig gets glowing reports: In his new boat wrap, Scott Ashmore might run at 90 mph, but he sure can’t hide.

As in other years, the Bassmaster Elite Series pro’s wrap is an eye-catching green-on-black motif for title sponsor Kershaw Knives. But the latest edition goes one better: a light system makes the green accents appear to glow when the boat is on its trailer.

The LED lights by Bluewater make his rig a rolling billboard after the sunsets. But even in daylight, few could miss the rig, a Legend Alpha 211 powered by Yamaha. Besides the green Kershaw logo, bright green trim surrounds his Lowrance electronics units and covers his MotorGuide trolling motor casing. Even his dual Power-Poles are green.

The color scheme matches his tournament jersey and shoes, the item that started it all.

“Years ago, I bought a pair of tennis shoes I loved the color of. I said it would be the color of my next boat. When they mixed the colors, they said it was ‘Scott Ashmore green,’ and that’s what we still call it,” said the pro from Broken Arrow, Okla.

Ashmore is the third Elite Series pro to run a Legend; Jason Quinn and Chris Lane also each have one. With the LED uplighting, Ashmore has gone all-out to make his rig stand out, but it’s technologically advanced as well. This season he’ll have an iPod in a waterproof mount on the dash. He can’t use it (or any phone) while he’s competing, but at other times, the iPod will keep him connected, he said.

“My boat is, after all, my office,” he said.

Ashmore’s boat/office will get a full workout in the 2012 season. Besides the eight-event Elite schedule, his regular season will include six Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open events, three in the Southern division and three in the Central division. Formerly a sales manager for a boat company, Ashmore said 2012 will be the first season he will compete full-time.